


You Came Back For Me

by EzraStardust



Category: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, bit angsty, these boys need some love, yep another fandom i just couldn't stay away from
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-20
Updated: 2017-10-20
Packaged: 2019-01-20 06:15:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12426708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EzraStardust/pseuds/EzraStardust
Summary: Not being able to die is undoubtedly a curse, but when your closest 'friend' think you're gone, being able to come back and tell them it's alright is a blessing.





	You Came Back For Me

**Author's Note:**

> My first Shadow of Mordor/War fanfic, yeah! I had this idea crammed up inside me for ages and I just had to get it out. Hope you guys enjoy it! <3

The day had started out as it usually did. Clans of Orcs from across Mordor were after Talion, every single one wanting to bask in the glory of killing him. This might sound like something that never happens, but for Talion, it was part of a grim routine. He was running, sprinting across open plains, the wind whipping through his short straight black hair. Only one companion ran by his side; a small, scrawny excuse for an Orc named Ratbag. "We can't outrun 'em, ranger!" Ratbag's voice rose a few octaves as he struggled to speak while hyperventilating from exertion. A group of archers were pursuing the two fugitives, bows and arrows at the ready. Every now and then, an arrow narrowly missed their heads, making Ratbag flinch in terror and Talion's heartbeat quicken. "For once, Ratbag, I agree with you!" said Talion. "We're sitting ducks out here in the open!" "We gotta find some cover!" Ratbag's yellow eyes darted this way and that, before settling on an outcrop which had once been a stone fortress. The unlikely allies headed towards it.

Dashing behind a stone wall, Ratbag was unable to stop himself from trembling. "What we gon' do, ranger? They're gonna kill us!" He squeaked in terror. "Ratbag, listen to me," said Talion calmly. "Stay out of sight and don't move. Those Uruks want me and that's who they'll get," He drew out his sword. Ratbag smirked, confident that Talion would slaughter their adversaries. "Splendid. You can count on me, ranger," "I hope so," said Talion thoughtfully. He emerged from behind the wall, sword in hand. "The Gravewalker!" Shouted one of the Uruks. Sword at the ready, Talion let out a roar as he charged at his opponents. As Ratbag crouched behind the wall, he waited in anticipation, listening to the sound of metal colliding with metal. He could hear the cries of Orcs as they gurgled their last breaths, before falling dead by Talion's sword. Then he heard the screams as the surviving Orcs retreated and emerged from his place of refuge, Ratbag saw Talion standing there, surrounded by corpses. The mysterious man sheathed his sword. "Well done, ranger!" Ratbag grinned. "You got 'em good, you did!" The small Orc could never have anticipated what came next.

All of a sudden, they both spotted a figure slip out of sight atop a stone platform. His weapon ready, Talion steathily climbed up to face the new foe. Ratbag watched from the ground, his heart pounding. As Talion raised his sword, his pale blue eyes scanned his surroundings, trying to detect something, anything. Ratbag saw it before Talion did. A lone archer fitting an arrow to his bow. "Ranger, look ou-!" It was too late. The arrow hit its target. With a gasp, Talion plummeted to the ground. "RANGER!" Almost fainting with terror, Ratbag ran to his companion's side. "Talion! Oh, shrakh! Can you hear me?" Ratbag desperately tried to lift Talion's body with his weak arms. The man's eyes were closed and he wasn't responding. Ratbag felt fury surge through his body. "Come on, ya bastard!" He shouted, tears springing to his eyes as he shook Talion's limp form. "Come on! Get up! Talion, wake up, you glob! Don't do this to me!" His anger gave way to despair. As tears poured down his sallow cheeks, Ratbag cradled Talion's body, whispering over and over again: "No, no, not you, ranger. Not you, of all people. Talion, please. Please don't leave me. Do something, say something, anything! Please, wake up!"

* * *

Through the eyes of the wraith that inhabited his body - Celebrimbor - Talion watched as Ratbag sobbed hysterically, begging the lifeless corpse beside him to move. "Do you think this was a wise decision?" He asked the wraith. "I should have informed him this was going to happen." "Keeping Ratbag on the outside was critical," Celebrimbor coldly replied. "It was his reaction that sold the archer. Now word will spread that the Gravewalker has been killed, the Orcs will let their guards down, giving us the perfect opportunity to defeat them." Talion glared at Celebrimor. "We shouldn't have done this!" He hissed. "It's one thing to use an Orc, but they're not mindless minions for us to control! Look at what this plan of yours has done to Ratbag! He's brokenhearted!" They both watched as Ratbag, exhausted from his own tears, lay down beside Talion's corpse and closed his eyes. "If you weren't the key to my survival, I would prefer not to see you again," Talion glared at his companion. "This plan will grant us great power," Celebrimbor tried to reason with him. "But at what cost?" Talion demanded.

"This war my cost us valuable alliances, but we will forge stronger ones," Celebrimor insisted. "Our goal is not to play a political game!" Talion pointed out. "If we lose the trust of what few allies we have, our goals will be harder to achieve. I'm going back. I can't stand to watch Ratbag suffer any longer." "Do what you must," Celebrimbor murmured. Talion inhaled deeply and felt his soul slowly entering his body again. He was so used to travelling between the Wraith world and the human world that he hardly noticed it anymore. He wasn't doing this for Celebrimor anymore. He was doing it for Ratbag.

* * *

Night had fallen and all was silent. Ratbag, who had cried himself to sleep, was awakened from a horrific nightmare - in which he was forced to watch Talion being executed in public while his fellow Orcs laughed - by a hand stroking his cheek. "Ratbag, it's alright," Ratbag opened one eye and look up at Talion, who was sitting upright beside him. "It's just a dream," he mumbled sadly, rubbing his eyes. "No, no, it isn't," said Talion gently. "I didn't die, Ratbag. That was only a nightmare," Ratbag sat up and pinched the back of his hand. Finally, he realised that he wasn't dreaming. "Talion!" He flung his arms around the ranger in a tight hug. Talion gasped as the breath was almost squeezed from his lungs. "Don't scare me like that, ya big glob!" Ratbag glared at Talion, then as his emotions shifted again, "You really had Ratbag there, ranger. Thought I'd lost you 'n' ev'rything," He scrubbed the tears from his eyes, desperately trying to conceal his emotion. "Shhh, it'll be alright," Talion murmured, stroking his cheek again. "You don't have to be scared," 

Shaking slightly, Ratbag asked "Talion, y-your death, was it really just a bad dream?" "Yes, yes it was," Talion replied, wrapping his arms around the small Orc in a warm hug. For a few minutes, silence fell over them both. Ratbag lay with his head pressed against Talion's chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat. He'd never been so relieved to hear it; that sign that someone was alive. Physical affection wasn't something that Orcs were big on, to say the least. But all of his life, Ratbag had been starving for it. Just that feeling of being held by gentle hands whenever he felt small (which he often did). And now Talion, the closest thing he had to a friend, was holding him. He might not be the best at expressing his emotions, but Ratbag would lay down his life for Talion. The man was dearer to him than anything in Middle Earth. "You know something, Ratbag?" Talion's soft baritone voice broke the silence. "Yeah?" "That's the first time you've called me by my real name," Ratbag smirked. "Figured I had to," he muttered. "Bit confusing when there's other rangers in Mordor. But you, Talion, you aren't like the others," "How so?" Talion asked. Ratbag smiled. "Because you came back for me," he whispered. 

 


End file.
